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April 21 (UPI) -- A crewmember from an Italian cruise ship in Japan has tested positive for the novel coronavirus. Tomihisa Taue, the mayor of Nagasaki, said at a press briefing on Tuesday one person connected to the vessel was confirmed for COVID-19. Among four people who showed symptoms including coughing, three people had tested negative for the coronavirus. The crewmember who had tested positive for the virus came into contact with 56 other people.
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The Costa Atlantica was undergoing repairs in the city of Nagasaki, Kyodo News and Nagasaki Broadcasting Co. reported.
The 56 crewmembers who made contact with the infected patient have been tested, and their test results will be known on Wednesday, according to Nagasaki Broadcasting.
About 20 people have developed a fever, an unidentified crewmember told Kyodo on Tuesday.
A total of 623 people arrived on the ship on Jan. 29, and the ship is to stay in Nagasaki port until the end of April.
Mitsubishi Shipbuilding Co., a unit of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, was repairing the ship. The Costa Atlantica was scheduled for repairs in China, but docked in Japan in January due to the COVID-19 outbreak that began in Wuhan.
According to Nagasaki Prefecture, the crew was evacuated from the ship on March 13, and the vessel was empty by March 14. The decision to evacuate the crew came the same day the prefecture reported its first case of COVID-19.
In February, Japanese authorities prohibited people on the British cruise ship Diamond Princess from leaving the vessel. Following the two-week ban, 712 out of 3,711 passengers were confirmed for the virus.
Reports of COVID-19 in connection to a second cruise ship docked in Japan come at a time when cases of the disease are rising in the country.
Some Japanese may be unable to comply with social distancing guidelines, owing to low rates of teleworking, according to Kyodo. Only 18 percent of people surveyed say they have stopped going to work due to the pandemic, the report says.
